Thanks, Mom. Like I really needed social instincts that think I’m some kind of major nobility. Only, maybe there was a reason for that. Had mom been someone important, wherever she came from? That could mean something, if I could ever figure out what colony that was.
“Dan Sokol,” the old man said. “It’s been a long time since you came to Taragi. I believe your last visit was forty years ago, after that affair with the Soba.”
“A simple merchant rarely has cause to walk the halls of power, Lord Himura” Captain Sokol said blandly.
“A simple merchant? Hah! Is that what you’re telling people these days? I suppose Vicky has forgotten all about you as well?”
“We haven’t spoken in some decades, actually. I’m afraid we had a bit of a falling out over my desire to remain… out of the spotlight.”
“She’ll never understand,” the oyabun said. “That woman lives for attention. But enough about old times. What brings you here today?”
“I’m afraid there’s been some sort of misunderstanding with some of your men, and I was hoping to clear things up.”
The old man’s brow furrowed. “Misunderstanding? What, has Riku been getting greedy with the smuggling tariffs?”
“It’s a bit less straightforward than that. You see, a few months ago Lord Ishida offered up one of his companions as stakes in a game of cards, and the luck was with me that evening. He seemed composed enough regarding his loss, so at the time I assumed it was no great matter. But then a group of inugami caught her alone on Felicity, and tried to kidnap her.”
“It’s not like Riku to go back on a debt,” Saburo mused.
“Indeed, that was my thought as well. I sought counsel with certain experts of my acquaintance, who inform me that the ladies in question were likely of Lord Yamashida’s group. But this only increased my perplexity. I wondered if the companion had witnessed some matter best kept private, but she insists this is not the case.”
“This still seems a matter that could have been resolved through more subtle channels,” the oyabun pointed out.
The captain sighed. “Unfortunately that was not the only incident. A few stops later, an ill-informed pirate captain was induced to ambush my ship on the way out of Zanfeld.”
The oyabun’s frown deepened. “Zanfeld is in Jiro’s territory.”
“You perceive the source of my confusion. One of my passengers turned out to be an expertly camouflaged saboteur as well, and his bots were prepared to spring into action at the moment of the attack. There was considerable damage done to my ship, and young Alice here was very nearly killed in the fighting.”
Saburo’s lips tightened in anger. “How barbaric. Have you come to seek recompense from the Masu-kai, Miss Long?”
Focus, Alice. Forget about being nervous. You’re an elegant young lady. Smart, smooth and sophisticated. You can do this.
“No, my lord. I killed Mr. Desh in the end, so that seems equitable enough. But I’d like to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. I can’t imagine what I could have done to earn the disapproval of the Masu-kai, so I’m hoping that it’s just a misunderstanding.”
A slight stir to my right caught my attention. A side door at the foot of the dais had opened, to admit a pair of inugami who looked a lot more dangerous to my threat assessor than the normal ones. They smoothly took up positions to one side of the door, next to the guard who had already been there, and a man followed them through.
He was tall, but wiry instead of all bulky like the captain. His black hair was closely trimmed, and his handsome face was carefully blank. But he moved with a perfectly controlled grace that reminded me of my own combat reflexes, and his eyes were cold as ice. He glided silently towards the dais, and the bystanders hurriedly got out of his way.
Noburu Yamashida, the ER system informed me. Head of the Yamashida branch of the Masu-kai organization, which specialized in espionage and assassination.
Saburo looked up as he approached. “Ah, good. Perhaps you can shed some light on this matter, Noburu?”
Lord Yamashida bowed deeply to the oyabun, and then to my surprise gave the captain and I a shallower bow. I returned the gesture as smoothly as I could manage, but I was sure I looked like an idiot.
“I believe so, my lord. Naturally I’ve been investigating since Captain Sokol’s request for an audience was received, but I’m afraid I can only explain the actions of my own people. It seems that you may know the location of a certain wreck, Captain Sokol?”
“I may,” the captain replied blandly.
“Well, apparently one of my local operatives failed to recognize your name when this information came to light. A team was dispatched with the intention of using Miss Sokol’s command codes to discreetly obtain whatever information she might have, and then return her none the wiser.”
“I see,” said the oyabun. “What’s so important about this wreck, then?”
Noburu produced a datapad, and handed it to the oyabun. I had to suppress the urge to comment on that. Seriously, passing around a physical object to share data? Who does that? These guys took being old fashioned to a whole new level.
Not only was it old fashioned, it was really insecure. I could see the screen reflected in Saburo’s eyes as he read. Sure enough, the file was about the Emperor’s Hope, the lost Mirai battleship. The gold was mentioned too, but only as an afterthought. What the file really focused on was some old mirror the ship had carried, which was apparently one of the great historical treasures of ancient Japan. That, and the fact that the expedition’s commander had been one of the Mirai Emperor’s daughters.
Come to think of it, the Mirai were the senior surviving branch of the Imperial family back before they were wiped out. If there was a survivor, they’d be the strongest living claimant to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Not that it made any practical difference, since Japan was currently a radioactive wasteland overrun with self-replicating war machines. But I could see how these guys would think it was important.
It took forever for the oyabun to finally understand what he was looking at, but I could tell he was excited. Then he glanced at the captain, and a lot of aggravation crept into his face.
“I’m surprised you didn’t bring this to my attention, Dan.”
“We aren’t even certain it’s the right ship, my lord. The nameplate was destroyed in the battle that wrecked it, and our explorations have yet to discover the treasure it supposedly carried. But even if we had, I’m not sure I see how a cargo of gold is connected with your organization.”
“Gold? Bah, that isn’t important. What about the mirror?”
He held up the data slate. Sokol studied the text for a moment, and his eyebrows went up.
“Well, now. That certainly puts another face on things, assuming this information is accurate. I had no idea such an artifact was thought to be aboard. We haven’t seen it, but that doesn’t mean much. It’s a very large ship, and we have explored very little of it. Military wrecks are dangerous to begin with, and this one has millions of not entirely inactive warbots drifting through the corridors.”